Asha Parekh on her first reaction when she heard about receiving Dada Saheb Phalke award – Times of India

Parekh attended IFFI (International Film Festival Of India) in Goa recently and she revealed her first reaction when she heard about getting a Dadasaheb Phalke award. The actress expressed, “This award is being given to a lady after a long time. I think it’s been twenty years. I am the first Gujarati to get a Dadasaheb Phalke Award. So, it was a great thing for me. It didn’t register in my mind for two days. And when I realized what I had got, I was thankful to God. Because it was too big a surprise for me. About Dadasaheb Phalke, there was a Marathi film Harishchandrachi Factory which we had selected as India’s official entry to the Oscars when I was the chairperson of the jury. So, I have been associated with Dadasaheb Phalke for a very long time.”

Interestingly, the actress recieved her award just one day before her 80th birthday. While receiving her award, she has also expressed that, “Our film industry is the best place to be in. And I would like to suggest to the youngsters who are in this industry to have perseverance, determination, discipline, and to be grounded, and I congratulate all the awardees tonight.”


Dada Saheb Phalke award is the highest recognition in the field of Indian cinema.